Even after hearing a report from Utah Transit Authority's project manager Steve Meyer, addressing some of those concerns Tuesday, council member Don Moore said "it's a tough decision," to close the road. The council has been discussing the road closure for more than a year, but even so, several residents expressed surprise that the closure was permanent. The vote came only with the understanding that certain provisions be met. Among those is that UTA conduct traffic counts at a number of locations on 500 and 1500 South, and at points on 700, 800, and 1100 West.
The traffic counts will be done because of concerns expressed by residents that other busy roads in the city will see increased traffic once the road is closed.
Another provision is that the turn from 500 South to 700 West be limited to 20 mph. Meyer said in studies UTA conducted, higher speeds cause motorists to cut the corner and travel into a parking lot.
The final provision, and the one causing the most heartburn for council members, was one which insured access to the property owned by W. S. Hatch, which is currently under the control of the Environmental Protection Agency as a superfund site. The site, used to store chemicals for years, is contaminated by TCE and PCE chemicals.
UTA is negotiating to purchase the land to use as a parking lot once the EPA remediation is complete, but attorney Patrick Malone, representing Hatchco wanted assurance that if those negotiations should fall through and Hatchco keeps the property, they will be allowed access to it, so development could take place in the future.
Meyer told the council that UTA will allow Hatchco em-ployees and EPA access to the driveway on 800 West, or commit to creating an access to the land off 700 South.
"We'll continue to negotiate for the land, but if it falls through, we don't want it landlocked," Meyer said.
Malone renewed the company's objections to 800 West being closed unless there was a guarantee the company have access to its land. City engineer Lee Cammack said it was important to the city too that the company maintain its access to the land.
But council member Jennifer Decker was adamant that point be spelled out before the council agreed to the closure. "We've prohibited their development if they don't have access," she said. Moore said he would also vote against the motion unless there was a guarantee there would be access.
With that amendment, Moore and Decker voted for the closure. With the council's approval, UTA will close the road later this spring.
mwilliams@davisclipper.com
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